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Ronda Arndorfer began exploring Pilates in 2001 at the age of 40, when she was trying to recover from the multiple running injuries she incurred while training for her first marathon. Her rehabilitation was so successful that she decided to learn how to share the experience with others. She became a certified Pilates instructor and—after opening a studio out of her home—eventually founded The Movement Center, a place where students can restore both body and mind in a positive, lighthearted environment. Arndorfer continues to attend workshops and teacher trainings with master instructors throughout the country. This exposure has allowed the Movement Center to offer multiple Teacher Training Programs ranging from Pilates, yoga, and barre to the benefit of her own staff members as well as the local movement community.
Arndorfer's passion for movement has paid off: the center has been featured in numerous television and magazine media outlets and was voted the Best Pilates Studio by CityVoter in 2009, 2010, and 2011. They have also garnered praise from a slew of local media outlets. In addition to traditional yoga and Pilates classes, the crew offers innovative and challenging techniques such as aerial yoga—in which students "float" on a trapeze-like swing—and yoga performed on open water using a standup paddleboard. Barre classes require students to hold onto a ballet barre or the outstretched arm of a handsome stranger while strengthening muscles with a mix of yoga- and Pilates-inspired moves.
The center's team includes massage therapists, a nutritionist, and a physical therapist and certified Feldenkrais practitioner who continue the healing that begins within each class. They also offer childcare for guests' convenience.

A Chat with Iron Battalion CrossFit
What services does your business offer and what makes your business stand out from the competition?
What distinguishes us from many CrossFit [gyms] today is that our primary goal is not group-exercise classes. Yes, we have group classes for our experienced members: members whose baseline fitness and technical skills are sound. At Iron Battalion CrossFit, you will start with a personal coach to teach you the basics.
What do you love most about your job?
We love seeing people's health and confidence increase through CrossFit. Also, our members are not only clients, but they become our family.

Groupon Guide

Following its 1920s heyday, downtown Los Angeles entered a protracted period of decline. Blame freeway-induced sprawl, the allure of the beach, or the burgeoning film industry's thirst for larger swathes of land. Whatever the reason, the city’s downtown districts became less its beating heart and more its ailing appendix—obsolete and expendable.
This narrative of decline persisted until 2003, when architect Frank Gehry unveiled his $130-million-dollar Walt Disney Concert Hall. With striking curves of stainless steel and an acoustical quality that Frommer’s claims “equals or surpasses those of the best concert halls in the world,” the building would come to symbolize downtown’s 21st-century renaissance.
Another prominent symbol of that renaissance emerged with the completion of the L.A. Live project. Developers and taxpayers spent billions to grow the area surrounding the Staples Center, which today comprises movie theaters, clubs, music venues, and restaurants. Head to the complex's Grammy Museum to check out four floors of interactive exhibits and artifacts that range from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s battered Fender Broadcaster to Michael Jackson’s sequined gloves. As the sun sets, bounce over to the Conga Room, a Latin music nightclub owned by a celebrity cohort that includes Jennifer Lopez and Jimmy Smits. Along with top salsa and Latin jazz artists, the club is home to Boca, whose Latin-style tapas dishes include seared tuna breaded with Cuban spices and shrimp marinated in coconut, cilantro, and jalapeno.
With all the attention that L.A. Live and other new additions garner, it's easy to overlook the institutions that have flourished in downtown for decades. Two of the area’s eateries feature rich—if conflicting—histories. Phillipe the Original and Cole's have both been open since 1908, and both claim to have invented the French dip. It hardly matters who’s right, as both restaurants serve prime specimens of the sandwich piled high with beef, pork, lamb, or turkey. Break the tie by choosing the closer location; Cole's sits a few blocks east of Pershing Square, whereas Phillippe straddles the boundary with Chinatown just north of the 101.
Thankfully, downtown Los Angeles doesn't shut down after dark. For a nightcap, head to The Edison, where guests munch on deviled eggs and sip bourbon cocktails. There’s an anachronistic element to the décor that recalls the early days of silent film—don’t miss a lounge filled with turn-of-the-century generators that create the impression of an Industrial Gothic cathedral. Nearby, Seven Grand caters to the worldly set with hundreds of whiskeys that range from cask-strength Irish spirits to single malts from Japan and India.
Of course, pockets of downtown take pride in their shaggier sensibilities. A case-in-point: The Smell, an all-ages punk club, experimental music venue, and art gallery. The prevailing ethic is decidedly DIY; volunteers operate every aspect of the not-for-profit club, from manning the soundboard to running the vegan snack bar. Occasionally, well-known artists such as Peter, Bjorn and John stop by to perform, but the lineup tends to feature homegrown acts—this is partly why tickets typically cost only $5.

To the untrained eye, there’s not much in the way of scenery along the 270-mile stretch between Las Vegas and Los Angeles—just distant mountains and vast expanses of desert punctuated by the occasional tumbleweed. The monotonous terrain seems a fitting contrast to what awaits at either destination: the promises of money and stardom. An empty stomach and a taste for curiosity, however, can get the best of anyone during the four-hour drive. Luckily, just off the beaten asphalt of Interstate 15, there’s a smattering of roadside stops that prove anything but boring.
Just an hour outside of Las Vegas, Primm is more than meets the eye. The city sits right up against Nevada’s border with California—an imaginary line that felons have long associated with freedom from the law. It happens that Primm is home to the most famous getaway car of all: Bonnie and Clyde’s V8 Ford. Punctured with more than 100 bullets, the battered vehicle sits behind a glass enclosure inside Whiskey Pete’s Hotel and Casino. Nearby rests the torn and bloodied shirt Clyde wore on the morning of his death.
More than 70 miles down the road and safely across California’s border, Alien Fresh Jerky restocks stomachs set on empty with 20 flavors of jerky—not to mention stuffed olives, nuts, candy, and various sauces. A few miles south of the exit for Zzyzx, CA, the gourmet jerky stop gets its curious name from owners who founded it after a failed search for Area 51.
Standing at an impressive 134 feet and visible from Interstate 15, the world’s largest thermometer sits just down the road from Alien Fresh Jerky. The thermometer’s height honors the highest temperature ever recorded in North America: 134 degrees in nearby Death Valley.
The heat and lack of moisture in the desert can help with preservation, which might explain why dinosaurs still roam the earth at Peggy Sue’s Diner and Dinosaur Park. When nobody is looking, the giant metal dinosaur statues that inhabit Peggy Sue’s backyard are said to slip quarters into the giant outdoor jukebox and feed on Peggy Sue’s hearty burgers and sandwiches.
Not far down the road from these towering statues, Casa Jimenez hosts some animals of its own. The Mexican restaurant lines its walls and counters with stuffed antelope, zebras, and wolves. Of course, you don’t need to contend with wild beasts to get your fill of tacos and burritos. Just across town from Casa Jimenez, the world’s oldest operating Del Taco has kept its grills hot and its drive-through open since 1964.

It’s a bucket list kind of week here in LA. By the end of the month, you could say you’ve watched a play in a cave (the final showing of the aptly titled CAVE at Griffith Park) and challenged an indie-rock icon to a dance-off (Arcade Fire’s been doing this at some of their shows). As always, check Groupon for even more great things to do in Los Angeles.
Renegade Craft Fair
Downtown | Saturday, July 26–Sunday, July 27, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
The international celebration of handmade arts and crafts is swinging through Grand Park, inviting locals to check out hundreds of DIY vendors. In addition to shopping for prints, clothing, stationery, and countless other goods, you can also hit up the food-truck lot and listen to tunes spun by KXLU DJs. (200 N. Grand Ave.; free)
Cowabunga! 30 Years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Silver Lake | Through July 27
With three decades under their ninja belts as sewer-dwelling crime fighters, the Heroes in a Half Shell are now officially a common interest of parent and child. In celebration of the live-action movie coming out next month, the iam8bit gallery has curated a family-friendly exhibit of TMNT-themed art from artists around the world. (2147 W. Sunset Blvd.; free)
CAVE
Griffith Park | Friday, August 1, 7 p.m.
For this site-specific play, you won’t just be expected to turn off your cell—you’ll also be expected to hike. Audiences meet a half-hour before curtain time, then trek up to Bronson Caves to watch the story of a false prophet who has sequestered his family in fear of an upcoming apocalypse. (Bronson Caves; $20 suggested donation; buy tickets here)
Arcade Fire
Inglewood | Friday, August 1–Saturday, August 2, 7 p.m.
The world’s biggest indie band is out to make their first arena tour feel as intimate as possible, greeting fans in lobbies and grooving beside them during dance-offs. Previous shows have included a “Motownphilly” cover and a surprise appearance from Echo and the Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch, so who knows that they’ll have up their mirrorball-ed sleeves for the LA crowds. (The Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood; $40–$90; buy tickets here)
Eighth Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design Exhibit
Downtown | Through September 20
Great costumes make great television more transformative—who hasn’t imagined themselves in Cersei Lannister’s gorgeous gowns or Walter White’s slimming coveralls? Get up close to small-screen style at this exhidbit curated from past conteners for costume-design Emmys, including the sparkly numbers worn in one of last year’s winners, HBO’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra. (FIDM Museum & Galleries, 919 S. Grand Ave.; free)
Photo courtesy of Renegade Craft Fair's Facebook page.